Marty James, aka Scapegoat Wax is rolling in a van somewhere in the mountains of California when we get to talk. It's one of those cell phone interviews. Everything that can go wrong with a cell phone does, from the transmission dropping out to the battery dying. Chico California's most famous music man is between gigs. He's on a whirlwind tour that will take him across the US to promote his debut album OKEEBLOW (Grand Royal).Marty unofficially began his career like most kids who grew up between hip-hop and MTV, messing around with microphones, mixers and samplers, learning the ins and outs of recording equipment, goofing with friends and dreaming of starting a band.
"I remember being 12 and sitting in my room with some friends. I had a buddy who was beat-boxin' and we were just goofin' around, you know, rhyming, whatever. I remember at that point we were like, 'We should be a group.
English: Mobile phone evolution Русский: Э...
Marty's
MartyWe'll put out a tape.' We thought it was going to be an easy life. That was the first time I really thought 'Yeah, this would be cool.' I was a real naïve kid and it wasn't going to happen like that. That was the point where (music) really became a part of my life. It became something I just am." From that point on Marty's goals were clear to him.
"My goal was to become a "professional musician" and be able to make a living at something I love to do," he explains. "I was pretty much into stereo equipment like mixers and microphones, Radio Shack stuff. By the time I was 16 I knew the ins and outs of a basic recording studio. Just the real basics about multi track recording, microphones, sequencers and samplers." It was through a combination of time, tenacity and growth as a songwriter that James would get the opportunity to work on his first disc. What's the album like? It's the diversity of the album that brings comparisons to Beck, however Marty wasn't quite ready for one description in particular.
Okeeblow
English: Marty James 2011
New Year's Eve (song)